MIDEAST >Egypt’s Mubarak to return to jail: Report

Mubarak is seen as he arrives for his trial lying on his bed in this July 2 photo. EPA photo

Egypt’s prosecutor general yesterday ordered convicted former strongman Hosni Mubarak back to prison nearly a month after he was moved to a military hospital in Cairo after reportedly suffering a stroke.

Abdel Meguid Mahmud “has issued an order to transfer former president Hosni Mubarak from the Maadi Armed Forces Hospital to Tora prison hospital after an improvement in his health,” his office said in a statement. On July 4, Mahmud had ordered the formation of a committee of medical experts to look into the 84-year-old Mubarak’s health, and determine whether he could be moved back to prison, deputy prosecutor general Adel al-Saeed said.

The doctors agreed that “Mubarak’s health is currently stable with medication, and it is considered good for someone of his age,” Saeed said. The committee found “no reason for the convict to currently remain in the Armed Forces Hospital in Maadi or any other hospital” with special facilities, he said. Mubarak’s health was clouded in uncertainty following his move to hospital on June 19. On June 2, Mubarak was sentenced to life in prison for his involvement in the death of protesters during the 2011 uprising that ended his three-decade rule.